


The Bubble Tea Promise (REWRITTEN)

by BabySnoopy



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Cliche, F/M, Fluff, fluff and angst???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 01:44:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16052858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabySnoopy/pseuds/BabySnoopy
Summary: super duper cliche plot of you being desperately (and secretly) in love with your best friend, soonyoung (ft. best friend!Wonu)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (goose goose let's go)

At some point in your life, you learn that there are things you see for the first time and like in an instant. Your heart’s way of saying _yup, that’s cool. Please have more of that_. The top three of such things and in no particular order were sunny days, bubble tea, and Soonyoung. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything (God forbid Wonwoo hear you say anything remotely similar). Neither was the wind rushing through his hair majestically as he turned to lock eyes with you. In fact, the decisive moment unfolded at your local McDonald’s. Who knew you’d run into Wonwoo and his friends (of which includes Soonyoung) at 2AM? And as if time was on your side, you walked in right as Soonyoung started doing a walrus impression, french fries hanging from the corners of his mouth and all. You had to stifle your giggles because your friend didn’t find it funny at all, the disapproving look on her face was all too obvious as she pulled you to the cashier. But when you looked back, you caught a split second of the smile that was directed right at you, before he buried his face in his palms in complete embarrassment. _Oh boy!_

You’d like to say the rest became history but you’re still trying to figure out which part of the story you’re in. Of course you _had_ to get to know Soonyoung, so you clung onto Wonwoo a little bit more than usual until he introduced you to Soonyoung. Ever since the group outing that everyone bailed on _except_ you and Soonyoung, you both became inseparable. As best friends, that is. Maybe you were a little disappointed about Soonyoung’s cynical take on love but if that meant you could still stay up together to dye each other’s hair and watch sad movies until someone laughed at whoever cried first, you could live with it. You did believe in soul mates though but soul mates didn’t have to be desperately in love. There was just something right about him and he didn’t need to say it aloud to tell you that he felt something too.

Despite all that, surely it had to be more than a coincidence that on a sunny day, with a bubble tea in hand, you bumped right into Soonyoung. Time was on your said (again!) and so either the planets must’ve temporary aligned or this was fate. You weren’t usually this clumsy but there were about five more bubbles left in your cup and no tea, so you had to strategically adjust the straw to slurp the last of the artificially sweetened jelly. It might have been a romantic run-in if Soonyoung wasn’t also occupied by his phone, his head bent down at the perfect angle to slam your forehead into his chin. 

You look up, rubbing your temple, finding yourself giddy over Soonyoung squinting with his eyebrows furrowed into a scowl. You wait for him to notice you and when he finally does, you are greeted by a glare. Soon young snatches the plastic cup from your hand, rips open the seal and devours the last of the bubbles. You could only watch in horror.

“Excuse me! That was mine!”

“Yeah, excuse you, you klutz.” He ruffled your hair until it stuck out in all sorts of directions and you hated how time froze in moments like this with him. 

“You owe me a cup of bubble tea.”

“Technically I’d owe you like, four bubbles only.”

“There were _five_ to be exact but fine, I accept. No more and no less, you promise?”

Soonyoung chuckles at the pinky finger you stuck out in front of him when his phone interrupts rather loudly, the familiar set ringtone making your stomach feel queasy. With one hand he links your pinky to seal the promise, but uses the other to answer the call.

“I’ll catch you later, yeah?”

“Yeah, say hi to Lisa for me.” He held the phone up to his ear and gave you the best possible wink he could pull off, mostly a blinking mess, before getting up and walking away. Lisa was a sweet girl, she really was but you’re still having long debates in the shower with yourself when you thought about how you should act. They’ve been going out for a couple weeks now but Soonyoung hasn’t referred to her explicitly as a _girlfriend_ so you think you’re still in the safe zone. Nevertheless, you couldn’t help but think that she had something that you didn’t, but this was what best friends were for. Not the one you were hopelessly in love with, you were thinking about the other one, Wonwoo.


	2. Chapter 2

“So, are they serious or what?” You casually brought up the topic as your thumb fiddled with your phone screen, navigating your way through the game’s map looking for Wonwoo’s game character. Staying in on a Friday night like this was always ideal; you, sprawled across the carpet and Wonwoo sitting up straight on the sofa. Sometimes Soonyoung would join you but he sucked at this game and usually ended up as the designated distraction as he tries to show you his grandma rendition of whatever current pop song was trending. 

“Dunno, he never really talks about her.” Wonwoo wasn’t the type to tell white lies, the lies you’re supposed to tell to make someone feel good. It’s like he didn’t understand that concept because he’d hit you with the hard truth, with no regrets, if he could and you knew this by first-hand experience.

Flashback to the breezy days of middle school when you worried over things like P.E., looking for that one library book you were supposed to return weeks ago, and more crucially, the crush that you and every other girl in your grade had on that older, quiet kid who liked to read. Lo and behold, it was Wonwoo himself at the peak of his emo phase.

Come Valentine’s Day (a celebration you no longer celebrated), all the girls told you that it was _the_ time to slip a love letter into Wonwoo’s locker. However, what they didn’t tell you was that these letters were supposed to be anonymous. Till this very day, you had never felt as embarrassed as when Wonwoo approached your table during lunch break, dropped the letter into your lap and announced, in front of all your friends (and the entire cafeteria) that he thought girls younger than him were, and you quote, “weird”.

Apparently it caused quite the commotion, a conversation that floated around the lunch ladies’ gossip for the entire month. Still though, it that hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be as close to Wonwoo as you are now, and you probably wouldn’t have met Soonyoung. So you suppose blessings really do have strange ways of revealing themselves, even if such blessings made you beg your mom to transfer schools for two whole months.

“Do I smell jealousy?” He continues.

“Yeah right. I just want to prepare myself.”

“For losing your best friend? Watch your left, there’s a dude behind the tree.”

“What? No. For… you know. Counselling.” From the tale aforementioned, it was clear that Wonwoo was as straightforward as can be and so naturally, he wasn’t very good at being subtle either. He seemed to choke on air at your comment.

“You? _Counselling_? Do you mean relationship advice?”

“Well, is Soonyoung going to come to _you_ for these things? Newsflash, I’m a girl so he’d want to ask _me_ to see what a girl would think.”

“Oh sure. This is all assuming he’s quick enough to think that far — NO! SOMEONE SHOT ME! Quick, revive me.”

“Yeah, I’m dead too soz.” 

He was right though. So far, Soonyoung hasn’t really said anything and you figure that it’s only when he does that it would be clear whether this was something serious. 

Wonwoo’s reassuring advice last only so long when you start to wish that you were madly in love with him instead of Soonyoung. Everything would have been so much easier. Wonwoo would probably catch you the moment you get all starry-eyed staring at him and he would confront you on the spot. Getting any feelings out in the open. Easy. But with Soonyoung? There was a prolonged time of pushing and pulling and you’re not even sure if he’s a player in this game. But it was starting to feel a whole lot more unfair when you find that he’s got an extra person on his team. 

You’ve started getting the occasional rain check text from Soonyoung, mostly because his spontaneity drives him to double-book plans on the same day without him realising. He’d never cancel though, instead he’d invite you to come with, reassuring you a million times that you wouldn’t be a third wheel. 

You accepted, just once, but even that time it wasn’t so much the third wheeling that made you feel weird, but rather seeing Soonyoung act like a watered down version of himself around the girl. It was the little things you noticed, like him not ordering the jumbo sized meal at the restaurant he always did or catching the quiet “sorry” that escaped his breath after bursting out in his characteristic loud laugh. You don’t say anything about it because it seemed like it didn’t bother Soonyoung. Maybe that’s just the way he was with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Upon finding out that both you and Soonyoung were terrible cooks, you officiated Tuesday nights for cooking so that you could get better. It was then that he hits you with the dreadful “can I ask you something?” as you both attempt to read over the fried chicken recipe for the nth time. It might as well have been called Fried Chicken Night because that’s all you ever attempted to make.

“Yes, I’ll— _put clothes on the chicken_ ,” you say cautiously, turning to him for emphasis. “You can do side dishes.”

His smile bunched up his cheeks, proud that you’re using the terminology he spent weeks trying to convince you to use. It reminded him so fondly of his chicken-raising days in his childhood. 

“Salads or fries?”

“Soonyoung, the only green I ever see in my fridge is when you had your head in it after I dyed your hair that horrid shade.”

“True. But I also put the rice cooker on though,” he looks like he’s seeking your approval but you just stare back blankly.

“I guess we’re having double carbs tonight.”

“DOUBLE CARBS IT IS!” Then he composes himself, “but that wasn’t what I was gonna ask though.”

“Oh?” 

Here it is. You’ve been preparing yourself for it. You lied to Wonwoo about not listing little bullet points in your head about the type of things you’d say. Things like how to make it up to her when she’s mad or the perfect date for an anniversary (the internal dialogue also included gagging). Wonwoo, and even Soonyoung, would straight up laugh in your face if you had ever said you thought of such things because in all your love life history, there was absolutely nothing in the archives except for the knowledge romantic comedies taught you (which, to be honest, should count). Even then you knew it wasn’t always sunshine and sparkles but if Soonyoung had found someone that made the grey clouds go away, then you’d do anything to help him keep them there. 

Besides, he was your best friend. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“How do you feel about Lisa?” Caught off guard, you turned the stove off and faced him, with the bowl of battered chicken tightly wrapped in your arms. You did not come prepared for this question.

“What do you mean ‘how do I feel?’ _You’re_ the one that’s been going out with her.”

“Yeah but what do you think about her? Obviously I want my best friend to like the girl that I kinda wanna ask to be my girlfriend!”

Pause. Soonyoung’s mouth was still moving but the words were gibberish because you couldn’t register anything past ‘girlfriend’. Sure, it looked and sounded like you had anticipated this (maybe even elaborated on the scenario of their wedding, picturing yourself smiling by the wedding cake as Soonyoung and the bride greeted guests), so it really shouldn’t have been that shocking to you. 

“Dude? You guys are so good together. I LOVE HER! WHY DIDN’T YOU DO IT SOONER?” Were you overdoing it? Probably. You turned around to have your back facing him as you started to fry the chicken, grateful you had an actual excuse to be occupied. You hoped he wasn’t able to detect the lies in your voice.

“ _Really_?”

You could almost hear the suspicion, thinking he probably had his eyes squinting and narrowed in at your stiffened form. And though you don’t want him to catch you, the other part of you (the part that always made you want to hold Soonyoung’s hand) was screaming otherwise. You wanted him to come around the kitchen counter to look into your eyes and find insincerity. He was good at that and he usually got it out of you by tickling that small space of skin above your hip. You were supposed to be transparent with each other and now you felt frustrated, knowing that lately you were out here pulling the blinds down to block him from looking in, whereas he always had his window open for you to climb in.

Being so good at distracting yourself, you don’t realise the sudden stinging pain on the back of your hand when it was too late. You drop the tongs immediately upon finding spattered burning oil on your skin. Soonyoung rushed over at the sound of your yelp and there was no hesitation in the way he grabbed your hand away from the frying pan and into the sink, running the cold water for you. 

“You ruined your sweater last week when you spilled the bleach on yourself and now this? I should get you a hazmat suit. They come in yellow and white. Which do you want?” He gently turns your hand over to examine your palm. “Scratch that. I’ll get you the yellow one so you can walk around like a giant banana.” He chuckles to himself at that thought as he gently pats your hand dry with a towel. It drove you crazy, how close you both were and how blind he was to see you right in front of him.

You don’t say anything about his hazmat inquiry and instead, in a low voice you asked, “I thought you said you were scared?"

He ceased the patting and just stared blankly at nothing in particular. You hadn’t realised how comfortably your hand sat in his palm until he gave your fingers a little squeeze. “Yeah but I didn’t have you then. But now I do! So if she breaks my heart, I’ll come crying to you.” He made it sound like it was the easiest thing in the world and you slowly come to the realisation of your fate.


	4. Chapter 4

It was the furious banging on the door that woke you up at 4:30 in the morning. And if that wasn’t enough to fuel third degree grumpiness, you were reminded that you had only gotten to bed an hour before. You pulled the blanket over your head, hoping whoever it was would just get tired and lave. For a moment you were right, the blissful silence creeping back in but then it left again when your phone started to ring.

It was Wonwoo who was making all this ruckus.

“What?” You hiss.

“Open the door.”

“Why? What are you doing here?”

“Is Soonyoung with you?” His name was enough to make you spring straight up from bed. You opened the door to be greeted by an unusually frantic Wonwoo. He rushed into your place immediately, looking around like your apartment, checking behind the curtains and in the pantry as if you were keeping the squishy boy hostage somewhere.

“Please do come in.” Wonwoo checked under your bed twice for good measure. “He’s not here.”

“When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“I don’t know… Last week, I guess? We had dinner, I think.” You vividly remember devouring all the fried chicken you cooked with him in less than 15 minutes and then the intense game of Jenga over the background noise of a movie you both neglected. But you hadn’t seen or heard from him since. Lectures kept you swamped and you suppose you’d one it on purpose because you didn’t really want to hear about Lisa.

“We were supposed to go out with the boys over the weekend but he didn’t show. He’s not answering his phone. He’s not at his apartment and I called his mom. He’s not at home either.”

“Maybe he ran off with Lisa or something?” Playing it cool was more of Wonwoo’s specialty than yours but this morning it was like you switched personalities, when you masked the fact you were ready to rip your hair out and Wonwoo’s bloodshot eyes has you washed over with seriousness.

If Wonwoo was visibly worried, then something was really off.

“Nope. Called her. They’re not going out anymore.” You only blinked at him blankly. Unlike Wonwoo who found solace in his pacing, you went to the cupboard in your kitchen to find a bag of chips. You started nibbling nervously. Soonyoung had done this once before. He’d told you how he ran away from home for about ten days.

It was probably the most personal Soonyoung ever got with you. Like fairytales, you always just heard that breaking up with high school sweethearts were dramatic but you never thought you’d hear it from the boy who liked to make fart noises at the intercom of the KFC drive thru.

“Out of nowhere, she just said she didn’t love me anymore. I… really didn’t see it coming. They weren’t wrong when they say you never forget your first love.” He was stuffing an entire drumstick into his mouth at the same time so you almost couldn't take him seriously. If it wasn't for the way he told it, you wouldn't have believed him. He brought it up like it was a hilarious joke, building up the anticipation to prepare you for the grand punch line; his broken heart. He never stopped smiling, even throwing in a couple chuckles here and there. Little by little you were able to see through him, knowing that it somehow still stung.

Which was why when Lisa came along, you didn't think twice about pushing whatever you felt aside in favour of Soonyoung learning that letting your guard down for someone isn't always going to end in heartbreak. Even if it wasn't for you. But if he and Lisa weren't going out anymore, was he hiding somewhere to build up even stronger fences?

Wonwoo was slouched on your sofa, trying Soonyoung’s phone again. He looked worn out but you couldn’t help but smile at how caring of a friend he actually was (since he always denied it in front of Soonyoung and rejected his cuddles).

“Wonwoo… It’ll be fine. He’s stupid but he’s not that stupid.”

You definitely saw yourself as a firm believer in fate, and if you hadn't, what happened next sure would have pushed you over the edge. The timing was impeccable (was it even possible that the planets were aligned again?). A singular knock on your door made you jump out of your seat and so you rushed to open it and see the man himself on the other side, wearing mismatched socks and holding a bubble tea drink in his hand. Long live.

“Soonyoung!” You flung yourself onto him immediately, grasping onto him like a koala bear. The goal was to suffocate him.

“Oh my—Why are you so heavy? Why is Wonwoo here too?” He walked in with you still attached onto his torso. When you finally let go, you noticed that Wonwoo was glaring at him which, in Wonwoo’s dictionary, signified relief. 

“He almost died worrying about you. Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer your phone or anything?”

“Oh… I lost my phone. But more importantly…” He rushed over and imitated the hug you had just given him by throwing himself onto Wonwoo. “You were worried about me?”

He peeled Soonyoung off of himself and brushed off his shoulders. “Not anymore. I’m leaving.” And just like that he walked out, slamming the door behind him, leaving both you and Soonyoung in a laughing frenzy. When you finally caught your breath, you weren’t sure if you wanted to ask him what had happened between him and Lisa or why he was here so early in the morning (or why he was wearing mismatched socks with flip flops).

“Oh, here!” Soonyoung offered the bubble tea cup to you. “Eh, wait a sec.” He popped the straw into the seal and started to aggressively slurp the drink.

"If you wanted some, why didn't you just get two?"

He held up his finger to shush you in response. He was about half way finished with the drink already and you could see his eyes tear up a little when he choked a little. When he finished the drink entirely, he dangled the cup in the air, counting the bubbles. Only now did you understand what he was doing. When he realised there were only four left, he so casually spit a bubble from his mouth back into the straw. "Okay, five bubbles, as I promised right?"

_Oh, man. If this wasn’t love, then what is?_ Summer mornings meant the sun seeped through the windows early (your favourite thing about this season) and illuminated every subtlety that was in the room. You made a minor correction to a thought you once had. Soul mates didn't have to be desperately in love, out loud. He'll realise it some day but until then, it was enough for you to feel it.


End file.
